Cast:
· Colin Ferguson
· Salli Richardson-Whitfield
· Neil Grayston
· Joe Morton
· Erica Cerra
· Matt Frewer
Grade: B+
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Santa Claus Comes to Town on Syfy's Eureka
Television Review: Eureka, "O' Little Town"
by R.J. Carter
Published: December 7, 2010
It's an understatement to say that a lot of odd things have happened in the town of Eureka. But the sighting of a flying sleigh on Christmas Eve may just top the list.
When Sheriff Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) and Zoe (Jordan Hinson) get stuck in Eureka due to a dangerous malfunction of the town's protective electromagnetic field, it looks like Christmas will be a washout for the family. But soon enough, as will happen in this secret haven for the country's most brilliant (and slightly addled) inventors, Carter has more than enough to take his mind off his disappointment, beginning with the aforementioned reckless sleigh flying. And there does turn out to be a jolly old man dressed in red tugging at the reins of the reindeer, but it isn't Santa Claus.
Dr. Taggart (Matt Frewer) has decided he's going to perfect (and create) the science of Santalogy (no engrams involved) and solve all the hurdles Santa must have to overcome in order to perform his vaunted job. This includes setting up traps for the Christmas visitor, whom Taggart believes to be quite real and perhaps the most gifted physicist the world has ever seen.
Riding Shotgun. Carter (Ferguson) accompanies Taggart (Matt Frewer)
on an important Christmas mission.
Photo by Eike Schroter/Syfy |
To Carter's Ebenezer Scrooge-like attitude, Taggart's little disasters are merely a minor annoyance. The real problem is a hydrogen crystal, locked away by one Dr. Drummer whom nobody can seem to find on the payroll lists. The crystal is highly unstable, hence why it's kept under tight security. But as of tonight, it's begun to grow. And grow. And if it isn't brought into check soon, it will engulf the town, touch the EMF field, and Eureka will be made over into a crater. It's not until Henry Deacon (Joe Morton) examines the atomic structure of the crystal that the full weight of the problem is discovered: the crystal isn't growing at all. The town is shrinking!
All this occurs while the rest of the town remains in blissful ignorance at the Global Dynamics Christmas party, where certain of our cast find themselves the recipient of absolutely perfect gifts, complimentary of a mysterious secret Santa. (GD head honcho, Doug Fargo, played by Neil Grayston, even gets a mint condition Six Million Dollar Man lunchbox!)
Eric Tuchman pens a fun holiday tale, with plenty of winks of his eye and nods of his head to the myth -- or, perhaps not a myth -- of Santa Claus, which juxtaposes nicely and yet fits perfectly with a town that runs on hard science. Fans of the series won't want to miss this Christmas carol.
Eureka, "O' Little Town," premieres December 7, 9/8c on Syfy.
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CD Giveaway - Paper Bird, "Rooms"
Ends May 28, 2013
Drifting ever so slightly away from traditional folk music, this Colorado band delivers harmony and energy aplenty. |
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